Connections
by ShadowRose75
Summary: These pieces are prizes for a friend. What will happen when the shy Hyuga will try connecting with the Uchiha avenger?
1. Chapter 1

"Acts of kindness."

As Sasuke made his way to visit the fresh graves of his family, everyday life went on around him. Birds chirped and flew overhead. Shop owners greeted their customers or fixed up their shops. People bustled about with their errands. Kids laughed as they walked with their parents or siblings. No matter how normal it all seemed, it was a sharp reminder that he had to continue his life after the tragedy.

Every day, he went home alone to an empty apartment. It was simply a place to live, not his home, not a place he built memories. He ate, trained, prepared for school, and took care of himself all alone. He walked through the streets of the village every day and would see families smiling at each other while he had no family to return to. Memories of them and their bonds haunted him.

On top of that, no one seemed to understand. Not the Hokage, not Iruka, not his classmates, not their parents, not a single villager. People went silent when he came around, but once he was walking away, the murmurs started up. Even in class, when they thought he couldn't hear, they talked about him. As if he wasn't there. As if his life was on display. As if the stares or rumors didn't bother him.

As this reality was becoming more concrete, new goals were forming. For now on, he couldn't form any new bonds or get too close with anyone else. He especially didn't want to lose anyone that ever meant something to him. Besides, he had to see Itachi again one day. Not out of the love he once held, but to get answers and to avenge his family. No one could get in the way of this goal. Friends would only drag him down.

As he reached his family's graves, he was taken back. It was different from the last time he visited. Multiple flowers lay on each grave, and all the headstones looked cleaner. His eyes narrowing, he wondered why a complete stranger would go out of their way to do this. He was the last Uchiha, other than his brother, and it was unlikely he would do this.

Though it could be seen as a touching gesture, he wasn't sure how to respond. This was his place. His family's place. The last thing he needed was someone messing around there or someone expressing pity or paying condolences. He was tired of apologies and people not knowing what to say or behave around him and how they treated him differently. Emotions over his lost and over this surprise whirled around him. He let out a long sigh and sat in front of his parents' graves, growing lost in those feelings and in his memories.

Feet away, hidden away in the forest bordering the cemetery, a young girl watched with lavender tinted eyes and an uncertain expression. She hadn't been sure if Sasuke would accept this gift. For a while there, Hinata wasn't sure how to help or approach her classmate without him taking it the wrong way. Until one day, she realized a way to pay her respects. In the first chance she had, she snuck past her family and servants to avoid their questioning and to evade supervision from Ko, her relative that her father appointed to watch over her.

It might be strange to help a classmate she barely knew, but deep down, she sympathized with him. No matter how stern they were with her, the young girl could never imagine losing her family, especially at the hands of another relative. The Uchiha massacre was a huge tragedy, one that shocked the village, especially her, but obviously upsetting Sasuke the most. It was clear that the hardship had a deep effect on him, the heartbreak in his face and in his behavior. That anguish slowly hardened into hatred. He changed and kept his distance from others.

Many others didn't seem to understand him, and though she couldn't fully understand either, she still wanted to do anything to help. After all, that was one of the worst devastations anyone could suffer, and he deserved someone to reach out to him. His family raised and took care of him. He grew up with them, saw their familiar faces on a regular basis, spent time with them, and shared deep love and bonds with them. In an instant, Sasuke lost his family to his beloved older brother, and his entire world was destroyed. Sasuke didn't deserve pity, the stares, or the gossip going around.

This was the least she could do for him. Turning away, she quietly walked away, giving him privacy. She knew she had to keep doing this for him.


	2. Chapter 2

"Respect."

Graduations were supposed to be a happy time, filled with enthusiastic students, proud relatives, special parties, and congratulations being passed around. It was a time when family and friends came together to celebrate. For Sasuke, none of that happened. He didn't have a family to share this big occasion with, and he made sure he didn't have any friends.

Instead, he found himself standing in front of the graves of the family that should have been there. They would have if it wasn't for his brother. His fists balled up, hatred filling him. Itachi was going to pay. Graduating was one step closer to his goal, and he was going to achieve it.

His gaze flickered over the graves, when he observed an oddity. Over the years, a stranger had been cleaning the headstones and leaving flowers. Though he never figured out who did it, he did notice that it was done frequently. There were always fresh flowers, usually wild but pretty ones, and the headstones always remained spotless. However, the most recent batch of flowers were starting to wilt, and the headstones needed to be cleaned.

When this first started to happen, Sasuke questioned whether the stranger was genuine in this gesture or simply showing pity. He grew to accept the sincerity in the action because of the continuous care. Once again, he started to doubt them and wondered if this person had forgotten or figured they have given enough charity to the Uchiha survivor.

A quick rustle of movement behind him caught his attention. Turning, Sasuke looked around, and his eyes narrowed on an anxious girl backing away towards the woods, holding two baskets in her arms. It was his classmate, Hinata, but they had never talked, and he never even acknowledged her until now. There was absolutely no reason for her to be here, in this special place for his family.

Sasuke searched her expression. "What are you doing here?"

Hinata briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to pull herself together. She had hoped to come when he wasn't there, and she was usually good at it. Before, she had always used her Byakugan to see if he was there. However, lately, she had been too nervous about graduation and making sure she was successful to stop by the cemetery for her usual ritual gift. Thus, she was in a rush to get it done for Sasuke, knowing he would stop by. He had no one to celebrate with, and his family and him deserved respect during this big time.

When she opened her eyes, she faltered again at his cold expression, recognizing how he probably didn't want anyone getting close to him or his past or disrespecting his family anymore. However, she managed a nervous yet gentle smile, and she gestured around the area, her baskets bouncing around her arms. "To p-pay my r-respects."

Sasuke glanced around and then looked at her baskets. One held cleaning supplies, and the other was filled with flowers. For all these years, it was this girl doing it. He looked at her suspiciously, wondering why she would go out of her way to do this for a classmate she barely knew, especially an avenger who never cared for anyone and never showed gratitude. He never needed pity and never asked for compassion. "I don't need charity," he finally spit out.

Still flustered, Hinata shook her head. "This i-isn't charity."

This time, it was his turn to motion towards the flowers and graves. "Then why? This has nothing to do with you. You can never understand." His voice kept hardening and growing louder. This didn't make any sense.

This time, she visibly flinched, not out of fear like he intended, but out of concern and hurt. The Hyuga understood his anger and knew how hard this was for him. This place was a harsh reminder, a devastating side effect of what happened to him, and he didn't want anyone bothering it. He also didn't want others to know about his past and get unwelcome attention. He didn't want to get hurt again. She managed to maintain her soft smile and tried to stop her fidgeting hands. "Because I s-see that y-you're s-suffering intensely after l-losing everything, but you f-found courage to get b-back up and f-found strength to k-keep moving forward. Your f-family deserves to be r-remembered, and you d-deserve respect."

Sasuke wasn't sure how to respond. Her words touched him because for the first time, someone was actually making the attempt to understand. Such words were coming from a classmate he hardly knew, a girl who still held such faith and admiration for him and his fallen family. The complete opposite from most of the village.

On the other hand, he couldn't tell if she was genuine and whether she would become one of those girls who chased him for shallow reasons. There was also his goal to consider, and he couldn't have distractions dragging him down. He didn't want to be close to anyone else, didn't want charity, didn't want another bond to another person. Emotions whirled inside him.

Letting out a sigh, he finally gave her an acknowledging nod. "Thank you," he mumbled, knowing the thanks wouldn't hurt. There was no harm if she did this.

He turned away from her growing smile and flushed expression and looked again at his parents' graves, hearing her as she went about replacing the flowers and scrubbing down the headstones. For once, a girl in his presence didn't chatter away, but remained silent and seemed comfortable doing so. Although he didn't need a friend, even one who has shown as much kindness as Hinata had, he was further surprised in the fact that he was content that he had someone like her who shared their graduation with him when it was just as easy for her to spend it with her own family.


	3. Chapter 3

"New connections."

Hinata now understood Sasuke better. It wasn't to the same extent, and she didn't feel the hatred that he did, but it hurt her to no end. In order to save her, her beloved cousin, who was almost like a brother, jumped in front of her, and his life was taken away by the Ten Tails. After their bitter past, after growing closer over the years, after everything he did for her, he was snatched away.

At first, she didn't want to believe it, but as she listened to Neji's final words and watched the mark on his forehead disappear, it began to slowly sink in. Her heart was shattering into a million pieces. Her body trembled, tears fell down her pale skin, and her hands gripped her legs tightly. She could barely breathe, and she was paralyzed for long moments. Her mind raced, and it took all she had not to crash all together.

This was all her fault! Because she was in the way, Neji risked and lost his life. She wasn't strong enough, smart enough, or good enough to save him. She hadn't been skilled enough to attempt to heal him.

However, unlike Sasuke, she had no time to grieve. No time to process her loss. Her comrades were becoming disheartened. The enemy was still attacking and was threatening to do more damage. She couldn't let them kill any more hope and no more friends. She had to live for Neji's sake, to live up to the convictions he maintained up until the end, and to keep him in her heart.

In order to do so, she had to pull herself together by drying her tears, standing up again, and helping her comrades. She also had to speak courageous words to the boy that originally taught her courage, the boy she once loved but no longer. She still felt a bond to Naruto and even risked her life to save him, but she no longer wanted to be rejected.

By fighting side by side with her comrades, she could push past her pain temporality. Until the second boy that taught her courage appeared on the battlefield along with Orochimaru, the reanimated former Hokage, and a few others she didn't recognize.

As Sasuke made his way across the battlefield and interacted with a few of his old acquaintances, his onyx hues meet her lavender ones. A jab of pain shot through Hinata along with old memories. She remembered how comfortable they were becoming around each other before he left, how he finally thanked her for what she did for his family, and how she now felt the horrible sting of a fallen relative. Even after he left, she continued visiting his family's graves, not that he would know. He left her alone to pay respects to his relatives.

When he stopped in front of her, Hinata sucked in a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "Hello, Sasuke," she murmured, no longer shuttering around him. He simply gave her an acknowledging nod. "I visited your family up until Pain destroyed the village." The words hurt to even say, but she knew he had a right to know.

At first, it wounded him, losing what was left of his family, but with a deep breath, he felt shockingly composed. With everything he learned recently, he realized that he still had his relatives with him and that he had to move forward in order to live up to Itachi's convictions. "It's okay. Thank you," he mumbled, actually meaning it.

Sasuke glanced around the area again, and his gaze landed on Neji's motionless body, sending shock waves through him. His gaze softened on the pale girl in front of him, noticing the dry tear stains on her cheeks and grief in her expression. He felt a new connection between them. "It might be my turn to return the favor." As confusion flickered across her face, he simply explained, "I'm returning to Konoha. I want to become the Hokage so that it can change. That means nothing like this will ever happen again." He not only wanted stop war, but also other devastations like his own tragedy.

All their friends were astonished, throwing questions and concerns at him, puzzled at his sudden change. At first, Hinata was just as stunned, but it passed quickly. She saw the determination in his face, heard it in his voice, and felt it radiating from him. The Hyuga thought that he felt the same way as she did. That they didn't want their brothers' deaths to go by in vain or for their beliefs to die with them.

Unexpectedly, the corners of her mouth twitched, and she almost wanted to smile. His bold words managed to bring back some of her faith. If that was the kind of future he wanted to build, then she would believe in him. It was what she wanted. No more pointless agony. His hatred was finally turning into the courage that she remembered from many years ago. It was what she sympathized with, and she was so touched that it was coming back. She wanted to be by his side and to help again, but in a bigger way than bringing flowers.

In the past, she wanted to reach for Naruto's hand and walk by his side as they went for his dream. Now, she almost wanted to reach for Sasuke's hand, a new emotion that left her speechless. At Sasuke's perking eyebrow, she jerked up straighter, took another deep breath, and moved so that she stood by his side. "Well, we better start by ending this war, right?"

The Uchiha smirked, sensing the shifting emotions between them and surprisingly feeling amused at how he could approach it later. He also knew that she was right. This war had to stop before they could move forward. "Right."


End file.
